Pérdida de diversidad en la comunidad de micromamíferos del Parque Nacional de Doñana durante las últimas cuatro décadas

Abstract

In this study, we analyze the changes occurred since 1978 in the community of small mammals of Doñana and the relationship with local climatic changes. Capture-mark-recapture methods were carried out for a total of 16 years, distributed over the last four decades. The results clearly reflect a significant loss of diversity and decline of the community of small mammals, with the virtual disappearance of Eliomys quercinus and Rattus rattus, the sharp decline of Apodemus sylvaticus and the progressive domination of Mus spretus, which is a worrying process because the small mammals are, after the rabbit, the most commonly group of prey consumed by carnivores and raptors in Doñana. The detected changes could have a certain causal relationship with the progressive increase in temperature detected during the study period in Doñana, which would be supported by the fact that species in clear regression are those of eurasian origin and northern distribution E. quercinus and R. rattus, while the current dominant species, M. spretus, has a North African origin and a Mediterranean distribution. Another possibility, not exclusive, is that extreme rarefaction of rabbit may have caused changes in interspecific relationships of the community of vertebrates, and that the impact caused by carnivores and raptors could deviate progressively towards smaller species (from rabbits, to rats and dormice) determining a gradual decline in their abundance.